A Comparison Between the Canon HG10 and the Canon HG21

The Canon HG21 camcorder is the top model and can contain up to 45 hours of high definition (HD) videos in its 120 GB hard disk drive. Meanwhile, the Canon HG10 camcorder is only equipped  with a 40 GB hard disk drive that can contain up to 15 hours of video that has been captured at 5 Mbps. On the other hand, the HG10 offers the capability to record using the Advanced Video Codec High Definition (AVCHD) format but the HG21 does not. It is also possible to play the videos directly from the Canon HG10 on an HDTV or on a computer.

The HG21 has a Dual Recording system that allows the saving of videos directly to the hard disk drive. The user can also shoot and store the videos in SDHC memory cards for portability. But both camcorders are provided with the Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) system and Advanced Focus (AF) for HD applications.

The HG10 has a 24p Cinema Mode that allows video recording for a "film look," while the HG21 permits the 25p Cinema Mode. And to compensate for the poor audio reception capability of the HG10, the HG21 allows the attachment of an external microphone for better sound recording control. The HG21 also has manual controls for sound recording and these include audio level control and microphone attenuation control. It also has audio level meters to obtain perfect audio quality.

The image sensor for the HG10 is a 2.7-inch CMOS sensor with RGB Primary Color Filter while the HG21 has an image processor known as the DIGIC DV II for delivering excellent HD movies. The HG21 captures movies at 24 Mbps while at the HG10 has a maximum of 5 Mbps. The HG21 is also provided with the software PIXELA ImageMixer for managing and editing HD videos.